


Somebody to Love ~ Joe Mazzello High School AU

by the_invisible_man



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Adorable, Alternate Universe - High School, Cute, F/M, Fluff, High School
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-21 08:33:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17639390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_invisible_man/pseuds/the_invisible_man
Summary: Cas was happy to be moving states. Her old house was boring, her old town and school was boring. She needed a change of scenery, but she wasn't thinking in the middle of her senior year. A new school was always exciting to her, but also worrying especially in the middle of the year. Let's hope it all goes well.





	1. Chapter 1

    **Home Sweet Home**

 

         "Why are we moving to Michigan again?" I could feel the cold air seeping through the cracks of the car door.

         "I got a really good job opportunity that I think will work out really good for us sweety." my mom answered as she slowed down to a stop at a red light.

         "Well, the snow might be pretty, but I don't like it." I crossed my arms and looked out the passenger side window, my breath fogging the glass. We have been driving since 3am, and it is now 4pm.

         "It might be a nice change of pace from the Georgia weather."

         "The only thing I'll miss about the Georgia weather is the rain, that's it."

     The light turned green and we continued driving straight. I could see buildings in the distance meaning a town was approaching us. Cars bustled back and forth into and out of businesses and restaurant parking lots. Mom slowed the car down to match the lower speed limit.

        "Please tell me we are NOT going to live in the middle of town." I said, observing the movement of the town.

        "Thankfully no, I got a house that's about twenty miles out of the town."

     By the looks of it, this wasn't a city like Atlanta by any means. It was just a college town that had all the essentials, plus a little extra of course, of everyday living. We were passing fast food places, restaurants, mini marts, little shops, doctors, etc.

         "Where is the school?"

          "I think there's one in the middle of this town, but I think our house is not in that school zone. I have the address to the one you're going to. It's more out on the countryside, and it's smaller."

          "Cool beans." Back in Georgia I went to a quite large school and only had three friends. I really don't like people, so I don't mind not having friends and going to a small school, but it does get boring sometimes. We reached the end of all the businesses after about ten minutes. The houses were good sizes and actually had yards and were spread apart.

     After driving a little longer, my mom pulled the car into a driveway. At this point, the houses had way more privacy and I liked it. This house was on the corner of two streets. The house was a cute little blue house with a garage. There was no 'front door', but there was a little porch that lead to a sliding door. Mom parked the car and turned the engine off. I opened the car door and stepped out, the cold air swirling around me. My stiff legs rejoiced in me standing up and walking as I followed my mom to the door that lead into the garage. She rustled through her purse, looking for the key I presume.

          "Ah! Here it is." She took the key and put it in the bottom lock, and turned the handle. The door opened and we walked in. It was just a basic garage, small and you could see all the beams in the ceiling. On the right wall was a couple steps that lead up to a door that I assumed led into the house. That one was unlocked so we just walked in. As soon as you enter, to the left is the kicken and to the right is the dining room. I kicked my shoes off and walked further in the house. In about seven feet is the living room, and that's where the sliding door was. Straight ahead was a bedroom, I walked up to the door and looked in, it had a bed, closet, etc. To my left was a doorway, I went through and there were three more rooms. Straight in front of me was the bathroom, and then two bedrooms, one on the left and one on the right of me. I went to the left and glanced in, it had a washer and dryer in it. Nope. I walked to the right and into the last bedroom, it was small but hey, can't complain.

         "Can you turn the heater on mom?!" I shouted from my new room. The house was warmer than outside but it was still chilly. I turned around and walked back into the living room. My mom was toying with the thermostat on the wall and that's when I heard the heaters kicking on.

         "There we go! So, how do you like the house?"

         "It's cute. I like it."

         "That's good! Let's bring in our stuff so it doesn't freeze out there." My mom chuckled as she walked towards the door to the garage, the garage door whirring as it opened.

         "Home sweet home."


	2. The BUS??

          "So, you are going to have to ride the bus to school." My mom placed the bowl of mashed potatoes on the table as she informed me of the dreadful news.

          "You're joking!" 

         "No. Unless you want to get up at four-thirty and leave the house by five. Then you can wait at the school until eight." My eyes shot up to her and squinted.

         "Fine." I angrily scooped the mashed potatoes on my plate next to my salsbury steak and cheese covered broccoli.  

         "The bus comes by at 7am. Do you have your schedule? What classes are you taking?"

         "Uhm, Orchestra, Senior English, Web Page Design, Personal Fitness, and Consumers Math." I grimaced at the last on the list. 

          "Ooo Consumers Math. I remember that class, it isn't that hard."

          "Jolly good fun. Can't wait."

         "So I was thinking, next weekend do you want to explore town a little bit? See what they have?" I shoved a piece of broccoli into my mouth.

         "Sure. I kind of want to look at sweaters and stuff because I'm obviously not prepared." 

         "Yeah, I need some gloves and maybe a new jacket as well." 

     We sat in silence and both finished our plates of food, making a collective decision to hold off on dishes until tomorrow. I walked through the maze of boxes in the living room and headed towards the bathroom. 

          "Hey honey, I'm going to head to bed. Gotta get up early tomorrow. Don't forget to set your alarm!"

          "Mkay, goodnight. Love you." I walked into the bathroom and shut the door. Staring into the small mirror above the sink I rubbed my face with my hands. "Should I take a shower in the morning or the night?" I swept the shoulder length black hair out of my face. "Do I feel like blow drying my hair in the morning?" I stretched my arms into the air, judging the pros and cons. "Night shower it is." I walked out of the bathroom again and went scavenging until I found the box labeled 'bathroom' on it. I grabbed the essentials: shampoo, conditioner, face wash, lotion, body wash, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, etc. With my arms full, I rushed back into the bathroom and locked the door behind me, it's a habit. I turned the shower on just to get the hot water running to heat up the bathroom a little. I started taking off my clothes aaaaaaaaaaaand I forgot my towel. I ran out into the cold living room, got what I needed, and headed back into the steamy bathroom. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     Droplets of water rushed down my back and chest as I put a headband in my hair so I could wash my face. When all that was done, I wrapped the towl around my body and realised I have to find clothes in the boxes. UGH. At least I put my boxes in my room. I opened the bathroom door, and was suddenly attacked by the freezing cold air. I ran into my room and quickly shut the door. I located the 'clothing' box and pulled it over to my bed. Sitting on the unmade bed, I opened the box and began sifting through my clothes. 

         "Do I really have this many black clothes? Jesus." Shivering uncontrollably, I shoved my hand into the box and felt around. I successfully fished out some Captain America sweatpants, a graphic tee, and a pair of underwear, also spilling articles of clothing everywhere in the process. I quickly got dressed, put the towel around my hair, and started looking for clothes for tomorrow. Grabbing my cell off of one of the boxes, I opened my weather app so I could mentally prepare myself for tomorrow. "Forty degrees and sunny. That's not that bad." I decided on black bootcut corduroys and a black and white striped shirt that had a semi turtleneck. Setting the clothes aside, I made my bed, jumped in, and plugged my phone in. 

         "Oooookay. Setting alarm for .... what time does the bus come again? SEVEN. Okay, alarm set for six-thirty, yes every weekday. Alarm tone...... hmmm.. Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy?? Nah, too loud. Ah yes, Bohemian Rhapsody. There we go, and now it is .. oh wow ten-forty-five." 

     I opened YouTube and scrolled through my recommendations, I decided to put on a Game Grumps compilation to sleep to. After finding a good compilations. I leaned off my bed and placed my phone on the nightstand beside my table. I pulled the blankets up to my chin, put my knees to my chest, and quickly drifted off to sleep.


	3. First Day

_"Mammmaaaaa, just killed a man."_ My eyes shot open at the sound of my alarm going off. " _Put a gun against his head,_ " I sat up and grabbed my phone from the nightstand. " _pulled my trigger no_ -" I clicked stop on my phone and then threw it onto the bed next to me. Rubbing my face, I stood up and reached for the lightswitch hanging from the light. My room lit up, making my eyes squint. My stomach growled, signaling time for breakfast. I shuffled my feet on the carpet as I walked to my door and opened it. My bedroom light lit up the dark hallway in front of me. I turned into the living room and walked straight up to the lamp by the sliding door, opening it and illuminating the rest of the house. I headed into the kitchen to grab food and saw a note on the fridge ' _Don't forget to take your medicine, and don't forget to grab your viola for school. Love you, Mom x_ '. Ah yes, that stuff. I grabbed the cereal box that was sitting on the counter and poured myself a bowl, only to find that there was no milk. 

          "Great." I grabbed the bowl of dry cereal and headed back to my room. I grabbed my phone to check my messages while I nibbled on my cereal. "No messages and no notifications, awesome." I looked to the top of my phone to check the time, 6:39, maybe I should start getting ready. I finished off my cereal, grabbed my clothes, and went into the bathroom. I threw my hair up, washed my face and brushed my teeth, the usual. I quickly got dressed and put my hair into a more presentable messy bun. Leaving the bathroom, I went back into my room to grab some black socks. I glanced around my room to make sure I didn't forget anyth- MY VIOLA! I leaned over and grabbed the music case off of one of the boxes under my window. "Glad I didn't forget this." I grabbed my phone off of my bed and turned my light off before shutting my bedroom door. Sitting on the couch in the living room, I put on my socks and glanced at my phone again, 6:52. I grabbed my fur lined jean jacket off the corner of the couch and my backpack next to it. Walking into the kitchen, I slipped on my old vintage clogs, yes I have clogs don't judge me, and went out the side door, locking it behind me. I exited the garage and walked to the end of my driveway. I sat my viola case on the ground and sat on top of it. My breath formed clouds in front of my face as I waited for the bus. While waiting, I also put in my earphones and was listening to 'Friends Will Be Friends' by Queen and softly sang along. 

         Five minutes pass and I see the bus slowing to a stop down my street, our house was on the corner of a four way. I stood up, put my phone into my jacket pocket, and grabbed my viola. The bus put on it's yellow hazard lights as it slowed down in front of me. The doors opened, allowing me on the bus. I walked up the stairs and was attacked by a wave of hot air from the heaters. Glancing around, I decided to sit in the middle of the bus on the opposite of the drivers side. 

         The bus was only filled up halfway and everyone was slouching in their seats, probably sleeping. Some people sat up chatting, some looked out the window, which I opted to do. The bus rocked back and forth as it went down the bumpy roads, only picking up a couple more students. We came across a large four way intersection and I could see the school on a hill on the right. It was two buildings and each had its own parking lots, but the buildings were connected in the middle. I checked my phone, 7:32,  _no notifications, now playing: Somebody to Love by Queen._ Man, I love this song. 

_**Oh, oooo, somebody.** _

_Somebody_.

          The bus turned up and into the second building's driveway and went around to the back of the school. 

_**Can anybody find me sooooooomebody to love.** _

_Anybody, find mee, someone to love._

          There I saw multiple busses sitting by the sidewalk to the school. There were more kids getting off at another door down farther along the sidewalk. 

_**Got no feel, got no rhythm. I just keep losing my beat.** _

_You just keep losing and losing_

_**Im okay, Im alright,** _

_He's alright, He's alright,_

          The bus slowed to a stop behind another bus, everyone standing up and grabbing their bags.

_**I ain't gonna face no defeat** _

_Yeah yeah,_

**_I just gotta get out of the prison cell, one day I'm gonna be free!!_ **

          I stood up as well, throwing my pack over my shoulder and grabbing my instrument. 

_Find me somebody to love,_

_Find me somebody to love,_

_Find me somebody to love,_

          Everyone merged into the isle of the bus, pushing against each other.

_Find me somebody to love,_

_Find me somebody to love,_

_Find me somebody to love,  
_

          I stayed put in my seat until everyone passed, and then I went into the isle. 

_Find me somebody to love,_

_Find me somebody to love love love,  
_

_Find me somebody to love,_

_Find me somebody to love,  
_

          I put my viola case in front of me and slowly shuffled behind everybody. 

_Somebody **somebody** somebody  **somebody** ,_

          As I reached the front of the bus, cold air engulfed me. I stepped off the bus and looked around. 

_Somebody find me,_

          I started to walk towards one of the doors that looked like the older kids were walking to. I walked with my head down until my foot landed on a piece of ice, my foot slipping out from under me. My body slammed onto the ground, my head coming into contact with the ground.

_Somebody find me somebody to love,_

          "Oh my god are you okay?!" Someone crouched down next to me, placing their hand under my head and lifting me off the ground. My eyes fluttered open and shut, looking around

_Can anybody findd meeeeeee,_

          My blurry glance met a pair of concerned brown eyes, 

_Someboddyyyy toooooo,_

          My vision went white,

_Loooovvvvvveeeeeeee._

            and I drifted off.


	4. Just My Luck

        I came to consciousness as a bright light shined across my held open eye. I opened my other eye and looked up at the person holding the light, it was a woman that I didn't know. 

          "Good, you're awake," she said as she clicked the flashlight off, "how are you feeling?" At that mention, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head. Ah yes, I fell outside. Great times.

         "My head hurts a little." I said as I reached back to touch the source of the pain, and found a small lump there. 

         "Well that's to be expected when you bang your head on the concrete," Dang lady, watch the sass. She then proceeded to grab a bottle off the counter and pour out a couple pills, "are you allergic to tylenol?" I shook my head and held out my hand as she handed the medicine. CRAP! I forgot to take my medicine this morning! Just as I noticed, I could feel my hips and shoulders aching from the fall. "I'm the school nurse by the way."

         "How long have I been in here?" I asked, shaking the pills in my closed fist. 

         "Maybe half an hour?" she grabbed a paper cup and walked to the water fountain on the wall and got me some water to take the medicine with. "I checked and you don't have a concussion, you might have a headache the next couple days though. Do you want me to call home for you?" I chucked the pills into my mouth and downed them with water. I shook my head and stood up from the bed I was lying on, my hips yelling in protest, they hurt more than my head did!

        "I'll be fine." The nurse turned and walked out of the room and I followed behind. We entered what I guessed to be the main office of the school. There were two desks in the office with a person at each and a bunch of filing cabinets.

         "Here is your stuff." the nurse said as she walked to the corner to the room. I bent over and grabbed my backpack and viola case off the ground. "Hey Shirley, can you write a late pass?" One of the secretaries at a desk turned around and looked at me. She waved me over and turned back around in her chair. I walked past the desk and stood at the front as she opened her side drawer on her desk, pulling out a pad of paper.  

         "What class are you going to?" she asked me. I pulled my bookbag around to the front of me, unzipped the front zipper, and pulled out a folded up piece of paper. "It's still first hour." I unfolded it and looked to the first class on my list.

         "Orchestra." 

         "What's your first name?" 

         "Cassandra." she then wrote the class name, my name, and the time she wrote those down and handed the blue piece of paper to me. "Thank you." I accepted the paper, stuffed it in my front pocket, and slung my backpack back around my shoulder and walked out of the office. I entered the spacious lobby that had a couple display cases in the middle. To my left was one hallway and next to that was a door by one of the display cases. To my right was a long hallway with lockers, and I assume classrooms, so I went down there. I looked at the top of my schedule and saw that my locker number was 555. I glanced to my left and saw that the starting locker was 1, I looked to my right and saw that it was 929. I started up the long hallway and passed classes that were all in the 200s. There was also two short hallways on the left side that each led to another long hallway that was parallel to the one I was in currently. I decided to walk to the end of the hallway just to make sure that my locker wasn't in this hallway. When I saw that it wasn't I took the second small hallway on the left to the other one. When I rounded the corner to my left into the other long hallway, I saw that the lockers started in the low 500s, so I walked down the hallway, keeping my glance on the left until I saw locker 555. I found my combination on my schedule paper and put it into the lock, successfully opening it. I sat my viola case next to me and took my bag off my back. I hung my backpack on one of the hooks but didn't get anything out of it because I didn't have anything for my orchestra class. I shut the locker, grabbed my viola case from the ground next to me, checked the classroom number of orchestra, and headed off to find my first hour class.


	5. "I'm Joe"

**_RINNNNGGGG_ **

         The school bell shrilled, signaling the end of class and the beginning of lunch. I rose from my seat, as everyone else did, grabbing my books from the desk. As I was walking out the classroom, the teacher stopped me in front of her desk.

          "Don't forget to join the online classroom tonight, all your assignments will be on there." she said as she smiled at me. I nodded in response and gave her a smile back. She stepped out of the way, letting me pass, and I continued out of the classroom. I was only in second hour, which was Senior English A, and was now heading to what they called 'A lunch'. A lunch was after second hour and B lunch was after third hour. I quickly walked to my locker, tucking my shoulders close to me and holding my books close to my chest so I wouldn't bump into anyone. I didn't realise how small the hallways actually were until they were filled with four grades at once. Arriving at my locker, thankfully it was a top locker and not a bottom locker, I put in the code and opened it.

          After Orchestra class, I unpacked all the folders and binders from my bag and set them in the bottom of the locker for easy access. I also shoved my jacket in the bag so it wouldn't take up all of my locker. I proceeded to slide my binder and book into my locker and grab my wallet that was hanging from one of the hooks by my bag. Unzipping it, I grabbed a five dollar bill for lunch and shut my locker. The halls were now less congested with everyone probably either in their next class or in line for lunch. I tightened my fist around my lunch money as I walked down the hallway and entered into the lobby. I saw a long line coming from the hallway, and next to the door, I saw when I left the office this morning. I continued walking, my legs in long stride, to the back of the lunch line. The lunch line was against a white brick wall and was separated with a rope from the other side of the hall where people were coming and going. To the right, the line went into the cafeteria, and to the left the hallway opened up and continued somewhere but I couldn't see where. The line moved slowly but constantly and I finally passed the doors into the cafeteria. The line split into two, and I went into the one on the left; it seemed to move quicker. I passed the first serving station and arrived at the second one. Today we were having the classic chicken nuggets with mashed potatoes and gravy,  _boy I hope its good_. I grabbed a tray, got my food and sides, and continued to pay. I saw people entering a number into a little machine, so I set my tray down, took out my schedule, and looked to the top. Lo and behold there was a six digit number that I think was my lunch number. I entered my number into the pad and I'm guessing it worked.

          "You don't have any money in your account." the lunch lady that was running the computer said. I handed her my five dollar bill and watched her take out an envelope and a pencil. "What's your name?"

         "Cassandra Brown." she then wrote my name, lunch number, and the amount I gave her. She nodded at me that I was all good and I headed into the lunch room. There were people crowded around tables, the sound of talking and laughing filled the air. I looked around and saw that every table was basically filled,  _no thank you_. Looking to my left, there was four big windows instead of walls that looked out into the hallway I saw while I was in the line. I saw little seats connected to the wall and decided that was my best bet. I walked to the doorways in the back of the lunchroom and went to the nearest seat that was unoccupied. The seat was cold and uncomfortable, but anything beats forced social interactions am I right. I began to eat my food, nothing to brag about, when someone walked up to where I was sitting. I quickly swallowed my food and glanced up to see who it was. My eyes met a tallish -- taller than me anyway -- skinny guy. He was wearing loose fitting black t-shirt with a blue and black flannel over it with a pair of dark jeans.

         "Is this seat taken?" he asked, pointing to the open space next to me. I shook my head and took a bite of another chicken nugget out of stress from the surprise visitor. He sat next to me, his hands resting on his legs. "I'm Joe by the way, I don't know if you remember me. You were already pretty out of it when I got to you earlier." I turned my head towards him, my eyes meeting his chocolate brown eyes.  _Oh_ ** _SHIT_**. I silently choked a little on my chicken nugget before I swallowed it.

         "Yeah I do remember you." I said, scratching my head before sweeping a piece of hair behind my ear.

         "How are you feeling? The nurse made me go back to class after I brought you to her." he leaned back against the wall, his head still turned towards me. _Brought me to her?_

         "I feel fine, nothing too bad." I used my fork to stir the potatoes around as I glanced back and forth from Joe to my food. He had a rich brown/red coloured hair, which is to DIE for, and smooth pale skin. His lips spread into a wide smile, which forced me to notice these little indents on the top of his cheeks.

         "That fall looked pretty bad, so I'm glad you're feeling alright." my face slowly heated up at that comment, "I didn't catch your name?"

         "I'm Cas, I just moved into town." At this, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Joe stood up and faced me once more.

         "Well, it was nice to meet you Cas." he stuck out his hand, I took it. "See you around." I let go of his hand and him mine. He then pivoted on his feet and walked into the sea of people heading to class.

_Lord give me strength._


	6. Gym Class

          It was now fourth hour, and I was heading to my Personal Fitness class. The gym was located down by the cafeteria at the end of the school. Walking past the cafeteria, I saw the doors at the end of the hallway, which I assumed were to the gym. Right before you walk through the doors, there is a staircase to the left which goes down to another door. I heard the sound of basketballs being bounced on the gym floor through the open doors in front of me, so I walked through. To my left was the gym but it was at a lower level, there was a group of guys playing basketball probably waiting for the class to start. I walked along the railing, trailing my hand on the cool metal, to the end of the gym where there was another set of stairs that led to the main gym floor. As I was walking down the metal stairs, I continued watching the basketball game that was going on. Before I got to the end of the stairs, a guy walked out of a doorway that was at the end of the stairs. 

         "Got room for another?" the guy asked. The game momentarily halted as the guys acknowledged the new player. 

         "We might, but not for you Rami!" a voice called out.

         "Oh fuck off Joseph!" 

         ....Joseph?  _Oh no. OhnoOHNO_. My eyes shot over to the guys and scanned all of them until they landed on Joe. Anything but  _GYM CLASS!_  He was wearing some baggy basketball shorts and a baggy shirt, making him look more lanky than before. I quickly put my head down, my hair falling into my face, and hurried down the rest of the stairs. To my left, I saw the teacher in this little office room across the gym floor and I quickly walked over to her. 

         "Cas? Hey Cas!" I stopped dead in my tracks, looked up at the teacher and then looked over my shoulder. Low and behold, Joe had spotted me. "One second guys." He said to the other players as he jogged over. I turned towards him and gave him a quick smile. "So, personal fitness huh?" 

         "Yeah yeah, sounded like a cool class." I replied, repositioning the small bag on my shoulder. 

        "It is a pretty cool class, in the sense of you can do basically whatever you want for half the class." Joe crossed his arms and smiled. 

        "Joe, who's this?" a more lower and raspy voice called out. Joe turned around, and I looked behind him, to see a guy walking up. He was much tanner than Joe, definitely a different ethnicity but I couldn't place it. His eyes were large, deepset, and ...green maybe? His hair was a very very dark shade of brown and very curly.

        "Rami, this is Cas. Cas, Rami." I held out my hand to be friendly, and Rami took it. His hands were rough and much larger than mine.

        "Nice to meet ya, Cas." Rami threw on a small smile, the ends of his lips curling ever so slightly. 

       "You too, Rami." I returned the smile. My hand fell down by my side as I looked back at Joe who was already looking at me. My gaze fell to the floor as I felt my face heat up. Thankfully, the bell rang, saving me from my awkwardness. Rami and Joe both turned and headed towards the office where the teacher was earlier. Everyone was taking seats on the floor as the teacher got out a clipboard. I quickly walked over to her before she went to the front of the students. "I'm Cas, I'm new." 

       "Ah yes, here you are." she said pointing to the bottom of her list. "You can go take a seat in the far right corner and then you can get dressed in the locker room after I take attendance." she pointed her pencil at a door to my left, which I assumed was the locker rooms. At that, I walked to the very last row of students and sat on the edge of the group. I looked around at the rest of the class, which was pretty male dominated, waiting for her to be done with attendance. "Okay class, we're going to warm up with some laps around the gym. Let's go!" 

       _Here we go._

      All the students rose from their spots on the floor, some already jogging, some just talking with friends. I walked against the crowd to the door the teacher pointed at earlier. I entered this long hallway that only went to the left. I passed the boys locker room and then entered the girls which was further down. I went into the first section of lockers, chose an empty one, and sat my bag inside of it. _And the fun begins.._


	7. Meet the Gang

My gym clothes consisted of black workout leggings that ended at my calves, a somewhat form fitting Blockbuster graphic tee, and tennis shoes (of course). I walked back into the gym, throwing my hair up into a semi-tight ponytail, and joined the class that was still doing laps around the gym. I, personally, liked how small the class was; it probably only had about fifteen kids in it? As I was jogging, I kept near the wall and to myself; my hip was sending sharp pains through my body every time my foot made contact with the ground but I beared through the pain.

"Okay class, that's enough running for today. Let's head up to the weight room." the teacher called out as she headed over to the same set of stairs I used to enter the gym. The class collectively stopped running and they all started following the teacher up the stairs. I stuck to the edge of the group, keeping some distance from the classmates. Once up the stairs, we went into this little room that had an elevator while the teacher was unlocking the doors to the weight room, the small room was heating up rapidly as it was collecting body heat. The teacher finally unlocked and opened the doors, the students filed into the room, each going their own way. The room was much colder than the gym and was loaded with a bunch of equipment, weight benches, treadmills, stationary bikes, boxes for jumping, machines to work out your arms, etc. "Let's consider this a free day, but everyone better work hard or we will do core workouts."

Everyone went to their respective machines, some got out yoga mats, and I just stood there clueless. I glanced around and saw Joe in the back corner of the room by the weights and the bench press set up with Rami, two other guys, and a girl. I decided I didn't have anything better to do. 

"Have room in this group for another?" I asked as I rubbed my hands together. Joe looked up from the weights at me and smiled widely. 

"Of course! Let me introduce you to the rest gang." I silently chuckled at the word gang. "These two are Ben and Gwil, they're both British exchange students." Joe gestured towards them as the said their names. Ben had blonde, loose curly hair, bright blue eyes, and was very well built; he definitely was the buffest one of the group. Gwil was very tall, had to be past six foot, he had short brown hair, and blue eyes as well. "And here's the other Brit, but she lives here, Lucy." Lucy was very very pretty, she had blonde hair that blended into darker roots, and blue eyes as well! "Everyone, this is Cas." Everyone chirped in saying hello and welcoming me, I nodded in response and smiled.

"So where did you move from? Joe tells us you just moved here." Ben crossed his arms, smiling at me, and nodded his head over to Joe. I couldn't help but notice how DEEP Ben's voice was. Like, dang. 

"I'm from Georgia, almost all the way down south." I rubbed my hands up and down my arms, trying to warm up a little. 

"Miss the heat?" Rami interjected. "I've been to Savannah before." 

"Well, I'm not a fan of intense heat or intense cold. Pretty picky." This earned a couple chuckles, "But Savannah is beautiful, I went there for a fifth grade school trip." After the introductions, and small conversations, Gwil and Ben both grabbed some weights from the rack as they had a conversation, Rami and Lucy walked over to the stationary bikes, which left me with Joe. 

"So.. what do you want to start on?" Joe asked. I looked around and saw this one machine that really interested me. 

"What's that one?" I pointed over at it. Joe walked over to it and I followed. 

"So you stand under these padded bars." I walked under the machine, there was some padding where I'm assuming my shoulders went. The padding section was a little lower than my standing height, so I was slouched a little. "You put your hands on these." Joe pointed at these handles that were parallel to the ground and above my head, they were right next to the shoulder pads. "So you're going to stand up straight, I'm going to lower the support bar, and the weight is going to be on your shoulders, okay?" I nodded. I straightened my back out and lifted the machine like he said. He moved closer to me, his face inches within mine. I looked down as he leaned in to where the support bar was and he lowered it. "Now you just do some, uhm, squats." I looked up at him and my face heated up, good thing I was already getting hot. I bent my knees and straightened them. 

"Can you add more weight?" This machine was was lighter than I thought it'd be.

"Sure, how much?" 

"One hundred maybe?" I may be super weak and lazy but I knew my legs were the only strong part of my body. Joe walked off and came back with two fifty pound weights and put them on. The machine pushed down on my shoulders, but it was a comfortable weight. I squatted once more and felt the burn in my thighs. "This is good." I continued to do a set of fifteen, ignoring my aching hip. 

"You can also jump with it, that's what basketball players do." I looked at him once more before squatting down and launching myself off the ground. I landed heavily, my knees receiving jolts of pain, and decided that my arthritis did NOT like that.

"Hey Joe, can you put the bar back up?" Joe walked over, bent under the machine I was holding up, and put the support bar back up so I could rest it back down. 

"Guess it's my turn." Joe went and stood in the place I was just in. "But could you, uh, take off fifty..?" I glanced at him and smirked.


	8. Blue Ink

        "So, what's the number of your bus you ride?" Joe was graciously keeping me company while I walked out to the buses. 

          "I think it's 36." I pulled my jacket tighter around me as the wind blew around me. 

          "Oh, that one's not too far of a walk." Joe shifted his messenger bag that was slung around his shoulder. "I drive to school." He was wearing multiple layers to bear the cold, they were made up of a t-shirt, his blue flannel, a thin tan overcoat, and a thick grey trench coat. _I really need to invest in layers._

          "Isn't this out of your way?" My teeth chattered slightly.

           "Nah, the student parking lot is just around there" He pointed to the corner of the school where I could see a couple of cars parked in the distance.

           "Oh."  _That seems pretty far._  

          "Here we are." Joe stopped in front of the doors to my bus and faced me. "It was nice meeting and getting to know you." I looked to the ground, my face burning in addition to the cold winter air. 

         "It was nice meeting you too and getting to know someone at this school." We stood there for a second, the noise of kids shouting and running past us. I then turned on my heels and made my way to the bus steps.

        "Cas wait!" Joe chirped up, halting me. I faced him once more, waiting for him to speak. I saw him rummaging through his bag until he got out an ink pen. "Uhm, do you ... mind? I don't have any paper." He said motioning at my hand. A cheeky smile formed on my face as I nodded in response. He took a step closer to me as I held out my hand; he gently took my hand, my palm facing downward. The warmth from his own hand radiated up my arm and I tilted my head to the side as he wrote. The pen glided smoothly across my skin, leaving a trail of cold ink. He let go of my hand, and stepped back once more; I looked down to find a phone number written on my hand.  _Pretty oldschool if I do say so myself_. I glanced up at him, a faint smile on my lips. The faint colour red taking over his cheeks and nose, more so then it was from the cold. "So if you need ... help. Or have .. questions." I smiled once more before I tapped the ink to make sure it was dry. Shoving my hand into my pocket, I turned and walked onto the bus. The heat from the bus felt like it was melting my skin off as I took a seat in one of the couple front rows. I turned my head to look out the window, Joe still standing on the sidewalk. He took a few steps back as my bus's doors shut and the bus slowly left the curb. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

         The bus slowed to a stop in front of my house. I stood up from my seat, walked to the front of the isle, and exited the warm air of the bus. I stopped in front of the bus, looking both ways, before I started walking towards my house. From the looks of it, my mom wasn't home yet. Her car wasn't in the driveway and I know it wasn't in the garage because it was not cleaned out yet. I walked up to the garage door and twisted the knob, but it didn't turn.  _Oh no_. I went to my right and up the couple steps to our small front porch. I pulled on the sliding door, but with no luck. 

         "Mooooommmm." Clouds of breath left my mouth as I went back down the stairs and decided to sit on them, the cold wood pressing through my jeans. I rubbed my hands together and saw the glimpse of blue ink,  _Joe's number_ , before I took my phone out of my pocket. I clicked the lock on my screen,  _Queen - Killer Queen (Top of the Pops, 1974)_ currently playing. I held the phone slightly away from me, allowing it to read my face and unlock. I slid up the lock screen and was brought to YouTube, so I went to the home page and clicked on my messages.  _New message_ , I slowly copied the number from my hand into my phone.

      **Hey.**

         I sent the message, bobbing my leg up and down before I started typing again.

   **It's Cas.**

 After sending it, I went into the number information, created a new contact, and entered the name Joe. I locked the phone before sliding it back into my jacket pocket and lying back on the cold wooden porch. After what seemed like ten minutes or so, I heard my mom's car pull into the driveway. I stood up from the porch, stretching my arms in the air, and walked over to the driver side door. 

         "I'm so sorry honey, I got held up at work." My mom walked up to the door by the garage and unlocked it. We quickly walked into that door, unlocked the house door, and shuffled into the heated house. 

        "It feels so GOOD in here." I said as I placed my bookbag onto the dining table to my right. We both began to take our shoes and jackets off before we headed into the living room and took a seat on the couch. 

        "How was your first day of school?" I crossed my legs on the couch and leaned back. "Make any friends?"

        "Well for starters, I almost died this morning. I slipped on a patch of ice and fell outside." 

         "Are you okay!?" My mom sat up a little at this.

         "Yeah, the nurse checked me out and said I was fine. The back of my head is a little tender and my hip hurts but I'm fine." I twirled my thumbs. "I met this guy named Joe, who helped me to the nurse's office after I fell." I chose to leave out the passing out part.

         "Oooohh! A boy! What's he look like? Tell me everything!" 

         "MOOMMMM" My face heated up as I looked away from her, but I caved in. "He's got this ginger-brown hair, and really pretty brown eyes. When he smiles he gets these little creases above his cheeks, and he has some freckles." I then realised I went a little overboard.

         "Well well, he sounds cute!" I rolled my head back and let out a groan.

         "He introduced me to his friends: Rami, Ben and Gwil who are British exchange students, and Lucy who's also British but she lives in America.

         "That sounds like quite the group." 

         "Yeah, they're all really nice." I then stood up from the couch and headed towards my room. "I'm gonna put on pajamas." I walked into my room and closed my door behind me. As the door clicked, I felt my phone vibrate in my back pocket. I whipped it out and looked at the screen. 

      **Joe: Hey!**

           A smile spread across my face before I tossed my phone onto the bed.

 


	9. John Deacon?

          It was after my mom and I had eaten dinner, I was lounging in my room listening to music in my headphones. I was scrolling through my phone, thinking of how to reply back to Joe.

      **What's up?**

           _Oh, I'm so exhilarating, I know!_

          I exited the messages and opened my instagram, I went to post a picture, scrolling through my gallery, and decided to post one of my favourite pictures of Queen, because I know all my followers care soo much. In the photoshoot, all of them were wearing makeup and I loved it so much. I was glancing at each and everyone of them before posting, when I looked at John.  _Oh jeeze._ After posting the photo,  _'Man, I love when the bois wear makeup.'_  I went to my photo gallery to ensue in an investigation. I scrolled through, clicking on every picture of John Richard Deacon, born August 19th, 1951, until I found THE photo. I clicked on it, so it took up my whole screen. 

           _Sugar honey iced tea. Joe looks like JOHN DEACON OH SHIT._ Just as the realization hit me, a banner popped up at the top of the screen as my phone vibrated. 

      **Joe: Just listening to music. Hbu?**

          My brain froze for a couple seconds before I clicked on the banner, my phone taking me to my messages. My thumbs hovered over the screen for a second before I started tapping.

     **I'm listening to music too, and scrolling on social media as always. What are you listening to?**

          I exited the messages quickly before I repositioned to my stomach on my bed. 

      **Joe: Just a Queen song, wbu?**

          My heart died right then and there. _It's destiny, it's love, it's fate._

**Joe: Do you have an Insta?**

**Yeah, it's ... '_the.invisible.man_'**

 I facepalmed in embarrassment as I sent it.  _He's gonna think I'm stupid!_

      **Joe: Oh nice, underrated Queen song. love the bass line.**

           _I think I'm gonna pass out. Or puke. Or both. Just play it cool!_

      **Yeah ikr! It's probably one of my favourites. What's yours?**

      **Joe: You tryin to kill me? Haha, that's a hard one. Uhm.. It's gotta be, Somebody to Love!**

           _Someone call the EMTs because I am DECEASED._

**Wanna hear a coincidence.**

**Joe: Sure!**

**That may, or may not have, been the song I was listening to when I slipped and fell and then met you the first time.**

          I stretched my thumbs back and forth, watching the text bubble appear and disappear multiple times.  _Oh god, now you've gone and done it!_  I threw my head back, groaning audibly, when my phone vibrated.

**Joe: Maybe it's fate, let's just get married right now! Haha, jk.**

          If I was drinking something right now, it would be the cliche spraying out of my nose and slowly dying.  _WhAt DO I sAy? I don't know what to say!_

**Joe: Want to get coffee with me after school?**

           _*heart monitor flatline noise*_  I rolled over, almost falling out of the bed, and shot up so I was sitting.

**Sure! :)**

**Joe: Sweet !**

**Would I be riding with you or?**

**Joe: Oh, yeah! If that's cool? We could leave after school and I can drop you off at your house or the school or wherever.**

          _Goodbye everyone, I'll remember you all in therapy!_

**Yeah, that's chill. I'll ask my mom about the drop off part. I'm gonna head to bed.**

**Joe: Okay, goodnight! (:**

**Night :))**

          I slammed my phone on the bed, stood up, and quickly left my room. My mom was sitting on the couch in the living room, she was on her laptop.

         "Hey sweetie, what's up?" she glanced up from her laptop.

          "SOOO, I am getting coffee with Joe tomorrow after school," she sat up and smiled at this "and he wanted to know if he should drop me off at the school or here." I rubbed my thumbs together, trying not to make eye contact.

          "That's wonderful dear! I'd very much like to meet him."

          "Moooooommmmmmm."

          "Tell him that it's up to him, if our house is out of the way, then I can pick you up at the school." she shut her laptop, presumably getting ready for bed as it was almost ten. I nodded my head and quickly when back into my room. I fell down back onto my bed, my hands skimming the surface until I found my phone. I held it above my head, seeing I had one notification.  _joseph.backchat has started following you! Back Chat for your username, really Joseph?_ I chuckled before clicking on the notification and being brought to Instagram. I automatically brought up his page, so I followed back. Most of his posts were about backstage at, I'm guessing, a drama club or something? He also had some cool aesthetic nature pictures and vinyl pictures, and there was one picture of him as a kid.  _He was SO CUTE!_

Looking at Joe, not to judge or anything, he doesn't seem the type to take pictures like this. I dabbled in photography a little and his style of photos was really cool. I decided to close out Insta, putting my phone on the charger for the night, after picking a video of scary stories to listen to. I curled up in my blanket and closed my eyes, it took longer for me to fall asleep that night.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you like! <3


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